1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to machines using cover reels for laying down and taking up ground covers and particularly to a machine that rapidly lays down a ground cover on a road while simultaneously securing the cover to the road with chains, and rapidly retrieving the cover and chains for reuse.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous machines have been described which use reel mechanisms to lay down covers on the ground and take them up. Some of these have been for covering baseball fields, football fields, new-laid concrete, winter recreation surfaces, and land fills. Some machines have been described for laying down or taking up plastic piping or grass turf. These machines have no means to rapidly secure the ground cover on the ground with chains or similar material and to rapidly retrieve the ground cover and chains. In road construction industry, rain can wet a road surface under construction to the point where further construction is not possible until the road dries. It may take several days, after a rainfall, for a road to dry out enough to resume construction.
There exists a need for a practical apparatus that can apply and secure a cover to a road construction site quickly to protect it from weather and other environmental conditions, and rapidly (within a few minutes) retrieve the cover for reuse and allow work to resume. However, in windy conditions it is necessary to weight or secure the cover to the ground as the cover is being laid on the ground. Also, it is necessary to remove the cover from the ground to the cover reel with minimum space between the two because, if wind gets under the cover the wind will blow the cover off center, twist it, and disrupt rewinding or laying down the cover. The present invention provides a novel, practical means for meeting these needs and will, thus, save considerable time and expense by reducing the interference of inclement weather with road construction.
The present invention is an apparatus for rapidly laying down or retrieving a ground cover while simultaneously laying down or retrieving retaining material, such as heavy chains, for securing the ground cover onto the ground. The apparatus is useful for laying a cover over a road, dam, or building construction site within a few minutes to protect the construction site from rainfall reducing the damage, delay, and cost it causes. It is, thus, also useful for preventing construction delays due to rainfall at road construction sites, prior to laying asphalt or concrete. The cover can then be rapidly retrieved within a few minutes by the apparatus when there is no longer a threat of rain so work can continue without costly delay. In a preferred embodiment, the invention has a frame which is attached rotatably to a prime mover such as a forklift or tractor. The frame has support arms which support a cover reel. Raising and lowering means are connected between the prime mover and frame to raise and lower the frame and cover reel, preferably by rotating the frame downward or upward. Chain reels or sprockets, with a motor/transmission assembly, and containers are located on the prime mover or frame for winding or unwinding the anchor chains.
The cover on the reel can be lowered to the ground or close to the ground and laid onto the ground rapidly by the action of the prime mover pushing the cover reel forward, freely unwinding the cover from the cover reel which has adjustable hydraulic drag to prevent backlash. The chains will unwind freely from the containers behind the cover reel through a series of guide rollers and onto the cover serving to hold the cover in a fixed position on the ground. The cover can be rewound and taken up onto the cover reel in a similar manner. The cover is attached to the cover reel and is then pushed forward by the prime mover, rapidly winding up the cover as the cover reel rotates. Simultaneously, the chains are taken up by the chain reels or sprockets which are rotated by a motor/transmission assembly. In both procedures of rapidly laying down or taking up the cover, a downward pressing force can be applied to the cover reel by the raising and lowering means to facilitate winding, unwinding, or alignment of the cover on the ground, or the weight of the cover reel and frame alone may be sufficient for these purposes. Alternatively, the cover reel can be power driven to adjust drag and tension in the cover during laying down and retrieval.
An advantage of the present invention is a cover reel assembly that can apply and secure a cover with heavy securing chains to the ground at a rate of 100 feet per minute or more.
Another advantage of the present invention is a cover reel assembly that can take up a cover and heavy securing chains from the ground at a rate of 100 feet per minute or more.
Another advantage of the present invention is a cover reel assembly that can lay down and retrieve the cover and heavy securing chains without the occurrence of backlash or wrinkles in the cover.
Another advantage of the present invention is reducing lost time from rain and xe2x80x9cconditions too wet to workxe2x80x9d during construction.
Another advantage of the present invention is a cover reel assembly that can provide a cover which will heat and insulate the road therefore allowing work to continue in freezing or near freezing weather.